‘Jeopardy!’ Shocker as Champ Fizzles Out & Gets Dissed by Ken Jennings

ABC

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for the Friday, November 22 episode of Jeopardy!]

Jeopardy! fans got a shock in the Friday, November 22’s episode as Mehal Shah, celebrated for his bold bets and $36,263 win just a day earlier, was decisively defeated. To add insult to injury, host Ken Jennings, who began the match praising Shah’s “dominating” play, ended it by mocking his wildly off-base Final Jeopardy answer that ended his run.

Shah, a software engineer from Seattle, Washington, entered a two-day champ with a total of $46,062, and his opponents were undoubtedly aware of his splashy previous win. He faced Adam Hersh, an attorney from Brooklyn, New York, and Courtney Schooley, a preschool teacher from Tulsa, Oklahoma.

In the Jeopardy! round, it was Hersch who got off to a hot start, adding $2,000 to have a $5,200 lead on the first Daily Double, knowing the “French-Named Food And Drink” was “Bouillon and bouillabaisse.” After some particularly peppy anecdotes, including a puke-filled engagement, student insult, and cheese plate engagement, respectively, Hersh held $5,800, Schooley had $2,400, and Shah clawed back to the lead with $7,200.

In Double Jeopardy!, Hersh regained the lead by nabbing the second Daily Double for $4,000, knowing the “Authors, Initially” clue was “Hinton.” The last Daily Double loomed and all three players Forrest Bounced around the game board hunting for it. The champ found it under “I Tinker” in a make-or-break moment with $11,600, Schooley with $8,400, and Hersch with the lead and $13,400. He took a deep sigh, mentally tinkering with what to do. Jennings reminded him, “Unlike yesterday, Mehal, you are betting from second place.” Shah opted to only bet $4,000, so while he was correct with “Morse,” it wasn’t enough to even keep the lead by Final Jeopardy.

Hersch came back into first with $16,600, while Shah had $14,400 and Schooley had $8,400. It all hinged on the “Movies and Psychology” clue, which was, “In this film, Paula Alquist tells Gregory Anton, ‘Have you gone mad, my husband? Or is it I who am mad?”

Schooley correctly wrote down “Gaslight” and doubled up to $16,800. Shah, however, incorrectly wrote down “Foile á deux.” Jennings read it out loud and incredulously asked, “The Joker movie?” adding, “Not correct.”

With that brutal jab, the credits rolled on his streak as he dropped to $0. Last was Hersh, who was also correct, adding $12,400 for the win with $29,000 and a gigantic grin. “You did it!” Jennings exclaimed.

Fans flooded the Reddit thread for the episode, shocked by Shah’s defeat after such a big statement last game, Hersh’s win against a good player, and Jennings’ mockery of the outgoing champ’s wrong answer.

“Well… Adam just did that,” one Redditor wrote.

“‘The Joker movie?’ LOL damn Ken chill,” wrote another.

“With a win like Adam just had, it’s logical to think that he might be able to pull off a three-game streak. But time’s running out!” wrote a third referring to the impending Tournament of Champions.

“ONLY if he bets a bit bigger if he pulls DDs,” speculated a fourth.

“In any case, as strong as Mehal was this game, I adored Adam Hersh (some humble bowing of the head upon winning, like aw shucks, not what you expect from a Manhattan attorney – so cute!)” wrote a fifth. “And can only fault him for not going all in on his first DD.”

“Although, to be fair, had Mehal repeated his TDD with DD3, since he only caught one today, he’d have put himself in a better position, as well,” wrote a sixth.

“Great game!” wrote a seventh. “I love that Mehal and Adam were going back and forth for the lead AND that Courtney was able to get to >50% of the leader’s score going into FJ, so everybody was in contention at the end.”

What did you think of the game? Does Adam Hersch have a few more wins up his sleeve with the ToC cutoff fast approaching? And how did no one know J.D. Salinger? A high school English teacher just lost her wings! Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

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